Pokémon: Crimson
by OatBreeze
Summary: Twins Hilbert and Hilda Henderson have a dead father and a still grieving mother. N has hopes, but no agency. Bianca Jones has a papa so strict she wants to be free. Cheren Shiro has dreams of championship and no brains. They all have a story to tell. -ON HIATUS-
1. Chapter 1: Hilda

_A/N__: Here it is, the first of a looong fic that should encompass both _Black_ and _White_. Hope y'all stick around for it all._ **Chapter One: Hilda**

In a tiny little town by the sea, the autumn sky was bright and clear. Pidove were chased away from a lovingly tended garden once again. In a house on the edge of town three friends waited nervously.

"Ugh, where is Bianca?" Cheren asked as he glanced at his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. "She should have been here fifteen minutes ago." The young man tapped his foot impatiently against the hardwood floor as he leaned against the hallway wall. His plain black backpack lay next to him. He pat down the cowlick in his dark hair and glanced at his watch again.

Hilda looked out the bow window that graced the end of the hallway. The packed sand road wound through the different estates. The clouds blew by and Mister Renfrew worked on his garden. His purrloin stood watch, daring the vermin to return.

The Most Annoying One rolled his eyes. The oldest, rattiest, most comfortable hat topped his brown mullet. His thick jean jacket looped through the strap of his favorite blue bag. The bag hung off of one shoulder.

"Do you want me to go find her?" He asked.

"Don't bother, I'm here!" The final member of the group shouted as she rushed up the stairs, her flyaway blonde hair stuffed underneath her favorite green hat. "I'm so sorry. I though we were going to meet at Professor Juniper's lab." She missed the final step off of the stairs and went sprawling down the corridor over the carpet runner.

"It's okay," Bianca said as she got back onto her feet. "I'm fine." She looked from Cheren to Hilbert and then to me. "We're all ready?" she asked.

"Yes we are," Cheren snapped. "We've been waiting here forever for you. I've known for years Bianca Jones that you have no sense of timing, or location or anything at all for that matter, but did you have to be late today of all days?"

I smirked at that. Cheren is the eldest of the four of us. His sixteenth birthday was almost ten months ago. Still, we made him hold to the pact our group made when we were six.

"Where are they?" Cheren asked.

I motioned to the oak door that marked Mom's office. "I think the professor put them in there."

Cheren was off like a shot. If I didn't know that people couldn't use attacks, I would have said that his movement was a definite Quick Attack.

Bianca trailed behind him at a more sedate pace. "Cheren, wait!" It's Hilda and Hilbert's birthday! They get first pick!"

He Who I Cannot Stand met my eyes and we shared a giggle. In those few seconds of conversation the entirety of Cheren and Bianca's relationship had been laid bare. Bianca was the slow, steady, and most likely late one. Cheren was punctual and headstrong. It was amazing they hadn't killed each other by now.

From the stories I had heard, the two of them had been like that long before Hilbert, Mom and I moved to Nuvema Town after Dad's death. The two of them had grown up together and were as close as my twin and me. When we moved here, the two of them had welcomed us and our new foursome had become almost inseparable.

Cheren had moved his bag onto one of the big wingback chairs that framed Mom's desk. He leaned against the chair. Bianca sat primly in the second chair. On top of the hardwood desk was a long package wrapped with a bright blue bow. On it in looping handwriting was a message form the professor: "Hilda, Hilbert: Happy Birthday! I do wish for all four of you to settle your choices politely and then meet me at my lab. Good luck and I will see you soon."

The box was much longer than it was wide. Its top easily flipped off to reveal four pokeballs nestled in gray foam. On the top half of each ball, near the release catch was a symbol etched though the red paint and into the silver steel below: a leaf, a tongue of flame, a drop of water, and a spark of lightning.

I glanced up at my brother to try and gauge which one her would choose. He gave no indication, but I guess he would go for the electric type. I looked down at the second pokeball and looked back up again. _Tepig, you're mine,_ I thought.

Bianca walked around the large desk to referee. "On three" she announced.

"One." I exhaled deeply.

"Two." My fingers twitched.

"Three!" I shot out my hand and wrapped it around tepig's ball. And my brother's hand.

"Dammit!" I cursed. I released the ball that contained _Hilbert's_ tepig. Hilbert smirked in his most annoying 'I beat you hahaha' smile and bean to shimmy around in his dance of joy.

"I snagged the electric pokeball and quickly resized it then clipped it to my belt. Bianca grabbed the leaf-emblazoned one and slipped it into one of the deep pockets in her bag.

"Hey!" Cheren called. "Don't I get to pick?"

He looked at the box to view what was left. "Oh never mind, I wanted an oshawott anyway." His new pokémon went into the front pocket of his pants.

I smiled. "We did it," I said softly. "We're finally Pokémon trainers."

Hilbert straightened his back, a light in his eyes. "My dear Bianca," He began in a posh, yet crappy imitation of a Castelian accent. "Would you do me the honor of fighting me in my first Pokémon battle?"

She laughed high and tinkling as bells. "Why Hilbert, I do believe I shall."

I looked over at Cheren. "You want to make it a double?" I asked him.

He grinned and retrieved his Oshawott's ball. I unclipped mine and thumbed the catch.

"Blitzle, it's time to shine!"


	2. Chapter 2: Hilbert

_A/N: part two, in which our heroes discover the joys of friendship and paperwork... dun__ Dun__ DUUUUNNN!_

**Chapter Two: Hilbert**

Remind me to keep my mouth shut next time.

Oh sure Bianca, the pokémon are small and cute. They would never be able to ruin the room. Ha ha. We were wrong. Plus my brand new, untrained tepig decided that it would be lovely to take a crap right on my left boot.

At first it was two separate battles going on; me and Bianca versus Hilda and Cheren. Then Bianca's snivy dodged one of my tackles and I hit Cheren's oshawott by accident. Hilda got mad and she and Cheren ganged up on me. Bianca didn't like that and it then became a four-way battle. The battle ended with all of our pokémon exhausted and Mom's study and the hallway destroyed.

"So we really are sorry Mom," I said as I finished our story. "It's just that we got a little carried away."

"And how much got broken?" she asked. "I could hear the battle from down here."

"Four vases and some of your books," Cheren said quickly, trying to cover.

"One of the bookshelves," Bianca added also. I agreed on that. You can't destroy books in the study without obliterating the bookshelves, but Mom didn't need to know more.

"My Wii," Hilda said in a huff. I rolled my eyes... Hilda and that stupid Wii.

Mom's eyes shifted from person to person among the four of us. She could tell there was something we weren't telling her. Her stare focused on me until I cracked. "Dad's Order of Dragons got smashed," I said quietly. Mom's eyes expanded to twice their normal size.

The Order of Dragons, the highest honor any Unovan can receive, is for extreme heroism in the face of Danger. Years ago, when Dad was still a ranger, he was the only one who volunteered to head over to another faraway region to deal with a problem they were having. He didn't make it home.

The medal- two swirled teardrops, one pearl and one jet, hung on a crimson cord- was mostly an apology from the government for sending him over there. The situation had been far more dangerous than anyone expected. The result: no dad and each of his surviving family members got a stipend to live off of for the rest of their life.

I would have preferred that Dad had survived.

To be blunt, Mom was pissed. She tossed the four of us out of the house and 'suggested' that we get on our way as soon as possible. Bianca went to her house to grab some potions for our exhausted pokémon and Cheren, Hilda and I waited for her at the front of professor Juniper's lab.

When she was beyond late again, I began to get nervous. Hopefully nothing had distracted her from grabbing the potions and getting out of there.

When she still didn't show up, I became worried. "I'm going to head over to her house," I told the others. See what happened."

"Okay," Cheren said.

I started down the path then stopped. The bag and jacket I was carrying were heavily laden for travel. I shucked them off and left them in a pile next to Hilda. "Watch my stuff," I said.

I took off at a jog down the lane to Bianca's house. I had just passed Mister Renfrew's guano covered house as Bianca let herself out of the front gate to her house. I went up next to her and saw that she was close to crying.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She sniffed. "Papa doesn't want me to go." Her welling tears began to fall. "He doesn't think I can do it."

I scoffed. "You totally can!" I reassured. "Who was the best in identification at school?"

"I was," she said through a sniff.

"Yeah! And no one is supposed to be awesome when they first start out. That's why they call it a journey," interrupted Mister Renfrew from his garden.

There. A hit of a smile. My ingenious plan was working. I rutched around in my pocket for a handkerchief and handed it to her. She used it to wipe her eyes and then loudly blow her nose.

"Thank you, Hilbert," she said. She resat her hat on her head and set her shoulders.

"You're welcome," I said. We began to walk back to the lab. I caught a glance of Bianca's father glaring at us through one of the front windows of her house. The message was clear: 'Hurt her and die.'

We made it back to the lab without any more incidents. The lab was more of an add-on to her house than an actual laboratory. The first floor was one giant room subdivided by bookshelves and stainless steel tables piles with books of every sort. In one corner, where the professor did most of her research, the books spilled onto the floor. I spied a treatise on the origination of the pokeball and its role in domestication and _Kick-It! A Modern Guide to Fighting Types_ autographed by the author among the mess.

Professor Juniper is pokémon historian. She is also the league distributor in the area. Her smile was bright and her light brown hair had been swept up into a clip formed from two halves of a pokeball.

I smiled back. I knew that one of her favorite things was giving pokémon to new trainers and sending them off on their adventures.

"Are all of you ready?" she asked in a cheery voice.

"Yes, ma'am," answered Bianca. The rest of us nodded.

"I have your pokedices on the table over there." She pointed to a table with slightly less books than the rest. In a tiny cleared area, four electronic devices waited, powered off.

I was first over there and snagged the darker red one. "Hilda," I called out, "what color do you want?"

"Does she have pink?" Hilda asked as she made her way around a particularly precarious pile. I glanced at the other ones. There was a blue one, a green one and one that was red, but had a slight opalescent sheen to the enamel.

"Yeah," I said.

"Cool, I'll take it." I tossed the pink dex over to her. It sailed in an arc past Cheren and over the professor's head.

"GAH!" Juniper cried. "Hilbert, do be careful with those devices. You only get one." I wasn't worried. A pokedex can survive being run over by a gigalith and remain unscathed. Still she was the league representative.

"Sorry, Professor."

Cheren grabbed the blue-grey pokedex and Bianca the spring green.

"If all of you come here, I can officially register you and chip your starters," the professor said.

"Bianca, you're first."


	3. Chapter 3: Bianca

_A/N: Chapter Three is for _ColaVixen Inc_ who has given me some of the best reviews EVER! They're like candy, really: a small sweet treat. Even more reviews by other people would be awesome too!_

**Chapter Three: Bianca**

"Bianca, you're first," Professor Juniper said. She motioned to the table where our pokedices had been resting a minute ago. My snivy slinked down from her newly-chosen spot as a kerchief around my neck and stood on the spot professor Juniper had indicated.

Snivy looked up to the professor with her big brown eyes and gave two long blinks as if to ask the professor not to hurt her.

"May I have your pokedex, please?" Professor Juniper asked me. I handed the cheery green device to her. She deftly plugged one end of a black cord to the pokedex and the other to a laptop balacked on three reams of paper and a dictionary.

The pokedex hummed slightly and shifted on.

"I am required by law to read these next questions verbatim: Are you male or female?"

"I am female," I answered.

I looked over at the others as Professor Juniper continued to ask more questions. Hilbert had hopped p on a table and was busy scrubbing his boot with an old cloth. Cheren was flipping through his pocket pad where I knew he had scribbled various notes on the pokemon found around Nuvema Town and the nearby islands and sandbars. Hilda had released her blitzle from his pokeball and was busy rubbing its poil. This blitzle was oddly marked, its head was bald instead of the usual plain black and there was a tiny snip of black on the muzzle.

"Thank you." Professor Juniper said. I shifted focus back to what she was doing as she dug in one of the table drawers. She found a sterile syringe after a few moments. She looked through the biodegradable plastic wrapping at the wide bore needle, verifying all pieces were there before breaking the seal. "If you could please hold your snivy tightly while the microchip is inserted, that would be most helpful," the professor said.

She showed me how to do it. My left arm curled over Snivy's head and my right arm cradled her body with that hand between her front legs, supporting her chest. My left hand rubbed Snivy's head in smooth, soothing circles as Professor Juniper readied the chip.

"She may jump a bit, so hang on to her," Professor Juniper instructed. I nodded. The reaction was brief and, with a glare at the professor, Snivy shook herself out, sending a spray of fine fur needles everywhere. She then returned to her spot on my shoulder and began to preen.

"If you plan on evolving her at all," the professor said, "please check into a pokémon center afterwards to make sure the chip was not dislodged during the process." She finished typing the serial number for the microchip into the laptop and slammed the return button.

Professor Juniper disconnected the cord and slid my pokedex shut. She handed it to me. "Thank you, professor," I said.

"You are quite welcome. The charge on your dex should last a few weeks, but top it off at a pokecenter when you have the chance."

The Professor took a disinfectant wipe and ran it quickly over the empty spot on the table. "Cheren, you're next."

The three others took fifteen minutes total. It would have been shorter, but Hilda's blitzle did not like the idea of shots at all and hid underneath one of the far tables, where it was hard to reach him.

We four walked out of the lab after our registration and I could barely contain my excitement. "We did it!" I squealed. We're finally trainers." Cheren glared at me. "Sorry," I said. "I may have been a little too excited."

I checked my green travel bag one more time before we finally headed out of town. I had two potions left over from my set that I bought the other day (the other four had gone to healing our pokemon after the Great Indoor Battle Fiasco), a lemonade and sandwich for lunch, a bit of pokemon chow for my dear snivy and a set of extra clothes in my bag for changing weather. I was ready to go.

"Hilda, Hilbert! Cheren! Bianca!" a voice cried from behind us. "Wait." I spun around to see who it was. The voice had been female, so I knew that it wasen't Papa at least, but I knew it could possibly be my mother, dragging me back home after changing her mind again.

It was not. Hilbert and Hilda's mom walked briskly to catch up with us. "I completely forgot our presents to you." She withdrew four chunky watches from her purse. We as your parents got you all going away gifts: cross-transceivers!" She distributed them to us. "Since it is a special occasion, you each have a premier ball to do with as you wish, too."

Each cross-transceiver matched a pokedex in color: red, pearl-red, green and blue. Hanging from the black leather strap was a pokeball with silver casing. The internal framework that I could see had been painted red. A thin chain passed through a tiny loop on the top of the ball where an anchor had been welded.

"Be sure to call us as you can." She smiled and started back to the city. Hilda and Hilbert looked at each other with their twin thing eyes and simultaneously rushed her to give their mother a big hug goodbye.

I clamped my Cross-Transceiver around the bag strap hanging across my chest and waited for the hugging to end.

I saw that Cheren had decided that family time was not for him. He began to walk down the path on route one. "Cheren, wait." I called. "You can't leave now."

"Why not?" he asked. He didn't stop, he just kept walking down the lane towards Accumula town in the far distance.

"We got our pokémon together; we should start our journey together too," I insisted. Snivy must have understood what I was trying to say because one of her vines wrapped around Cheren's wrist and she would not let him go.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll wait."

Hilbert and Hilda had finished their goodbyes and turned to head down to route one. I snagged Hilbert's then Hilda's arm and looped them around mine. "We start together." I announced. Cheren hesitated slightly and then grabbed Hilda's hand.

We set off on our adventure, passing the wooden sign hammered into the ground:

_Route One_

_Please do not litter._

_Thank you!_


	4. Chapter 4: Cheren

_A/N: Sorry about the long wait. I plotted out the entire story twice. After I finished the first time, the logic board on my computer decided that I would be a great time to crap out. Also, I hate writing in Cheren's voice. It's just so slippery and I had trouble finding the proper phrases._

**Chapter Four: Cheren**

The trail that led to Accumula Town was quiet. I rejected the path and started walking along the back fence of the professor's pokemon lab and ranch. In the far distance, beyond the bordering woods I saw a sliver of dark blue: the Hana Sea.

I passed through the trees and revealed more of the ocean. Mountainous islands hung on the horizon and thin ropes –in fact bridges- connected some of them together.

I released Oshawott and stripped off my outer shirt. I crammed that into my bag and stuffed the bag underneath a bush. I bent some branches over the bush to conceal it better. Thinking a bit, I also stripped off my pants and shoes and sat them on top of my hidden bag. I left my socks on. The autumn air was cool and the water would be even colder.

Oshawott and I waded into the water. I was right, it was cold. Very cold. We had just begun our swim over to the nearest island when I saw a man riding a seismitoad across the sea. I could tell by the red uniform, he was a ranger.

He must have seen me too because he shifted directions and began surfing straight towards me. Oshawott and I swam back the 30 meters to the beach to meet him on dry land.

He was about as old as my father with salt and pepper hair that was more salt than pepper. His face was wrinkled from the sun and hat was slung low on his head. His red ranger's jacket was faded and frayed, but still serviceable. The pants had been patched multiple times and he wore a black squirtleneck under his uniform.

He looked me up and down carefully and then glanced at Oshawott. ""Y'all just leave town?" he asked.

"Yes sir," I answered.

"You might wanna hold off going for a swim, then. 'Specially with a water type as a starter," he said. "Them frillish out there is tough."

"Thank you for the advice sir, but that's what I'm trying to catch," I said. He gave me a look. If all rangers had a look like that, I could see where Hilda had gotten her version.

"Tell ya what," he glanced from side to side along the beach and looked out to sea. No other people in the general vicinity. He pulled a pokeball out from his belt. "This here frillish has been makin a ruckus out in them islets. She could use a good trainer. I was gonna relocate her, but you'll do just fine."

He looked at me again. "You from Nuvema?" he asked.

"Yes sir," I answered. Why would he be asking that? We were barely two kilometers from the town anyway.

"You know the Henderson twins?" When I nodded he continued. "Can ya take these over to them?" He handed me two eggs. "I was heading over to give them to the twins when I got sidetracked by Miss Fussy there." He waved the hand that held the frillish.

He didn't give me a real chance to answer before he tossed me the ball, jumped onto his Seismitoad and headed off again across the sea.

I sighed. _Sure, Ranger Whogivesacrap, I would be glad to do your job for you_.

I turned to Oshawott, who was busy making a pile of sand on the beach. "I'm not a pidove." I told him. Oshawott looked at me quizzically and then went back to his sand castle.

I wrung out my undershirt and boxers and grabbed my bag from underneath the bush. Oshawott did not want to go back into his pokeball so he went into the bag as well. Only his head stuck out from the bag top giving the impression of a beach ball balanced on the backpack. I got redressed and started back the way I had come.

Halfway back to the main trail, I was literally stopped by a man. He had been looking behind me when He ran right into me. He was wearing a garish orange shirt and a Herdier stood guard next to him. His left boot was smoking and he was glancing around in terror. The man's eyes alit on me and he immediately rushed towards me and helped me stand.

"They're after me!" He cried.

"Who is 'they'?" I asked. This day was just getting weirder and weirder.

The herdier sniffed the air and started growling. "Oh crap," the guy muttered. "They're here."

Two people in gray hoodies and blue jeans rushed into the clearing. "You!" the girl shouted. "Give me that herdier!" The hoodies were emblazoned with a shield. It had a red 'T' and blue 'P' superimposed on a black and white base.

I backed up. I definistly did not want to get into this mess. The man huddled behind me. "You're a trainer, right?" the man asked.

"Yeah, but-"

"HELP ME!" the man interrupted.

A champion cannot refuse a call for help. I flicked the catch on my new frillish's pokeball and released her. I gaped in shock. This frillish, the terror of the outer islets was tiny. The average frillish stood a bit over a meter tall but this one… It would have to stretch to reach a half meter.

My almighty frillish, the one I made this stupid detour for, was crap.

"Who are you?" I asked the troublemakers.

The hooligan on the left, looked up and down me and the frillish. He scoffed and released a watchog.

"We're Team Plasma. Hypnosis."

The world spun and went dark.


	5. Chapter 5: Hilda

_A/N: Next chapter. I posted this on my profile, but I'll add a note here too. I'm in need of OCs for the endgame portion of the fic. If you have any ideas/characters/teams in mind, drop me a line and let me know._

**Chapter Five: Hilda**

"Do you have any idea where he is?" I asked Bianca with my mouth full. We were currently sitting in a small café by the Accumula Town commons. I was devouring a huge mushroom burger. Blitzle lay in the sun beside me dozing after the shopping trip we made. His new travel bags sat next to my own behind the nearby planter.

"I haven't seen him anywhere," Bianca said. She wasn't eating anything, but was sitting across the table from me. She glanced across the main square. "That looks interesting," she told me.

I turned and saw a group of men setting up a small stage on the green. Most of their group wore gray hoodies, though a man in a crisp overcoat directed the set-up.

"But, knowing your brother, he would be-"

"Right behind you," said Hilbert. He snagged one of the wrought iron chairs from a nearby table and spun it over to us. He planted himself firmly in it backwards.

Hilbert reached over and snagged one of the chips out of the basket and popped it into his mouth. "These are pretty good," he said

"Get your own," I retorted. He nodded and snagged the waitress for a basket of his own.

"Ladies, gentlemen and pokemon," boomed out from the square. "May I please have your attention?" The small stage had been set up fully and the man from earlier stood on top. He had discarded the overcoat and wore a deep purple –almost black- suit. His bright blue dress shirt was matched only by an even brighter gold tie. Even the red dot on the tie (either a large tie tack or a microphone, I couldn't tell at this distance) sparkled. His long white-blond hair had been pulled back leaving only a few smaller sections to frame his face.

Bianca started getting up. "I'm going over to watch," she said. Her snivy stretched from where she had been sunning herself and resumed her position as a neckerchief.

"I'll go with you Bianca," Hilbert said. He jumped up and slid the demolished remains of his basket of chips back towards me and headed off with Bianca.

"I'm not paying for your crap," I called after my brother.

I snagged another chip as the man on the stage continued. "My name is Doctor Charles Ghetsis, and I am here today on behalf of Team Plasma.

"I come before this gracious town to speak of a crime being perpetrated by callous trainers."

That got the crowd buzzing. What crime could he possibly be talking about. Accumula was effectually crime free. What could be so heinous that an outside agency had to be involved?

"I speak of slavery," Dr. Ghetsis finished. The crowd seethed.

"Pokemon have become slaves to the selfish whims of children. The so-called trainers use pokemon as nothing but toys." I heard a loud "WHAT!" from the crowd. By the pitch and emotion, that had to be Hilbert.

"Across Unova trainers have forcibly captured, bred and mistreated their partners. Even outside of this region the plague of hatred has spread. In Kanto there have been reports of trainers simply releasing unwanted pokemon into a wild they had no idea how to face. Fully domesticated breeds, even. _Starters_!"

"Pokemon, these glorious being that contain unknown potential, are quite different from human beings. They require different needs." He held up the remains of a tattered black backpack. I could tell from where I was sitting that it had been nice once.

"They do not need to be stuffed into a backpack with several books and old food like a piece of garbage!" There was the flash of a pokemon being released from its ball. "See how this pokemon fears us! He was recently liberated from a negligent trainer. See the dirty fur and the cowed expression." The crowd shifted and I could see a brown-tinged oshawott through the sea of people. He was hiding behind a loudspeaker.

"Even worse, the abusive trainer held these two precious pokemon eggs hostage." Two of the doctor's assistant held aloft the eggs. They both were pale green and dusky rose spider-webbed with silver floss. "Even before hatching, he tortured them!

"Pokemon deserve our love. They deserve our respect. They should not be made to serve our petty needs. We can be better; we MUST be better!

"To you, people of Accumula Town, I give you this commandment. Release your pokemon! Then and only then, will humanity and pokemon be equals.

"I end my words here today to implore you to consider the relationship between people and pokemon and the correct choice from now on."

A young man, maybe twenty, wearing jeans and a pullover stepped out of the crowd. "He's right! We can't keep doing this to them." He held aloft two pokeballs and displayed them to the crowd. He then released a lillipup and a watchog. "Friends, you have lived in darkness too long," He announced. "I release you. Live in peace." The two pokemon scampered off into the crowd.

Doctor Goodman grinned. "Thank you, kind sir for seeing the light." When a lady in the crowd released a purrloin he bowed to them. "Team Plasma sincerely appreciates all of your attention."

The tide of releases continued as Team Plasma disassembled their stage. They ported it past me and off along Route Two.

Blitzle had woken from his nap and looked at me in an obvious expression of _Are you done yet?_

"Just a moment." I placed a ten and a five dollar bill on the table and stood up, stretching. The food here was delicious and had been well worth the stop.

I knelt next to Blitzle and checked the straps on his new travel bags to be sure they were secured. Both the frontispiece and the belly band were fine. I smiled and shifted some of my newly purchased supplies into the large cloth panniers. Blitzle was traveling with me, so he would be carrying his own supplies.

In those few minutes, Bianca had returned from the crowd. She saw me checking the new bags. "You're not releasing him?" she asked.

"No. Why would I?"

"It's just… I mean it's- Are we really mistreating pokemon by training them?" She sighed. "I don't know if I should let Snivy go or not."

Blitzle pawed the cobblestone walkway in nervousness and backed away from Bianca and into a blonde kid about my age. A purrloin kitten twirled around his legs. He smiled. "You might want to be a little bit more careful, fella." His look changed to one of amusement, then bewilderment. He turned directly to me. "Your pokemon," he started. "It said-"

"You talk to pokemon?" Bianca scoffed.

The bewildered look grew. "You can't hear them?"

"No," I said.

"Pity." He stood up and wiped his hands across the back of his pants and held it out in greeting. "I'm N"

"N?" I said. "Your parents must have really hated you." That got me a sharp whack in the ribs from Bianca. "Anyway, I'm Hilda and this is Bianca. My brother and our other friend should be around here somewhere."

"I'll be around," N said. He headed out along Route two at a slow pace. I could just barely hear him mutter to himself, "I have never heard a pokemon say such things…"

Weirdo gone, I turned back to Bianca. "We just got our pokemon. I don't think that we are doing anything wrong by training them."

"You- you're probably right, Hilda."


	6. Interlude 1: N

_A/N: BONUS CHAPTER! Well, not really a chapter, more of an interlude. There will be more, but they all will be short. Less than 500 words._

**Interlude 1: N**

Father stood on the stage talking to the masses. Why he bothered doing this rote speech in each town we stopped in, I didn't know.

There was a girl standing next to me, wearing a green scarf around her neck. I watched it and it suddenly wriggled. A pokemon? It figured, using a living being to make her look prettier. She was just as bad as the rest of them. The girl reached up and idley scratched the side of the pokemon. She lifted it slightly and moved the weight of it from one shoulder to the other. It wriggled and settled down into the sunnier spot.

Father's speech finished and he signaled the plant in the crowd. The plant released his pokemon and said one of the stupider bits of the script. If only I could force people to release pokemon without having to sit through these every week.

_There must be a way._

I was deep in my thoughts when I bowled over a blitzle wearing one of the torturous contraptions trainers forced them to carry. I smiled and helped the blitzle up. "You might want to be a little bit more careful, fella." I told him.

_I don't wants to go! _he practically screamed_. Plum Man was doing the talkings and he said that pokemon needs to go away! I dont wants to go! I don't wants to leave my Poofy._

I glanced at the girl he indicated. Her bushy mane was shoved under a cap and the ponytailed remainder exploded from the back of the hat; very poofy. Next to her was Scarf Girl.

But she would be a trainer and so would her friend. I mentally renewed my vow not to befriend abusers.

_...Doesn't want to leave… How could that be?_

"You're pokemon…" I started. "It said-"

I got cut off by Scarf Girl and she and her friend started bickering. I left, thinking two things. Scarf Girl had a name: Bianca.

The other stayed with me long into the night. _I don't want to leave._ I have never heard pokemon say such things…


	7. Chapter 6: Bianca

_A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Apparently real life doesn't like to wait for writing to be done._

**Chapter 6: Bianca**

_You are completely stupid_, Bianca told herself. She had been intending to just head out of town after a sit in the park. Snivy had spotted a lass and her mother standing watch over a cardboard box on one of the walkways. 'free to gud home' was scrawled on the side in a child's messy handwriting.

She knew Papa was right; she was too emotional. But when Bianca saw the four lillipuppies huddled together for warmth in a corner of the box, something within her snapped.

Bianca raced to the pokemon center and purchased a thin green collar. She returned tot he park and selected her new pokemon.

Thankfully the mother wanted to get rid of the puppies quickly. In a few minutes, the three of them parted ways. Bianca's new pokemon trotted behind her, a minimized pokeball dangling from his new collar.

The road to striation city bathed in the sunset's red light. Bianca followed the straight path that ran beside the road and hummed a lilting tune. Lillipup ran back and forth across the road, only staying near Bianca when a transport truck lumbered by.

Lillipup loved the air and sunshine she could tell, unlike Snivy who was just content to be. And why shouldn't he? Lillipup's former home was the dark and cold corner of an old box, but out here he was free.

Lillipup stopped running and sniffed the air again, his nose twitching. Bianca stared at him. She knew he was doing something different, but the real question was 'how different?' For all she knew, this was something normal for him.

"What is it?" She asked her new pokemon. "What do you smell?" The lillipup stared at Bianca for a second, contemplating the question before trotting off. He would put his nose to the ground, then up to the sky sampling the breeze and then back down to the ground again.

Bianca followed at a sedate pace. When Lillipup started barking and rushed into the taller weeds, she rushed after him. Bianca had been expecting to find lillipup tussling with some feral purrloin, but instead he stared down a slim leather journal and growled.

Bianca looked closely at it. The brown leather was worn and pages were dog-eared. tiny bookmarks in multiple colors danced along the spine. The gold lettering on the face was mostly worn off but she could make out some letters. H-R, N, I-R-O.

It couldn't be. She picked up the journal and flipped through it. There was his list of starters he had painstakingly analyzed, each strength and weakness marked. 'Oshawott' had been ircled and then crossed out and then darkly underlined.

Flipping past a detailed sketch of Hilda Henderson laughing, Bianca found a map of the outer islands pasted in along with a stat printout for frillish. Scrawled in the margin was a note "tt Hils re eggs!" and circled.

Bianca couldn't breathe. There was no doubt about it, this was Cheren's journal, but some part of her still doubted it. He would never leave it lying near a road for a random person to pick up. Cheren was probably near here and looking for it now. She would return it.

Bianca stood up and circled around looking for Cheren. When she couldn't see him immediately, she scratched Snivy and asked her to see if she could sense him at all. Snivy's tongue flicked out and she too began to growl.

"Where?" Bianca asked. Snivy slunk down from her perch and disappeared into the bordering woods. Lillipup trotted after her and Bianca after him.

The woods were quiet. No pidove trilled, no liepard yowled. It was still and oppressive. Bianca cringed as Lillipup darted into a hollow. He barked, the sound painfully loud. He kept barking and she quickened my pace. The barks were more intense now and she began to jog.

Lillipup was alternately yapping and scratching at a long pile of overturned dirt. He saw Bianca and stopped barking but doubled his digging pace.

When Lillipup uncovered a head of dark hair, Bianca screamed.


	8. Chapter 7: Hilbert

_A/N: Head!canon time! Pokemon rangers are sort of half animal control, half state trooper. And I have no idea where Bianca's plan came from. I'm writing what's going to happen and suddenly she decides to go all Inigo Montoya on my ass. WTF, brain!_

**Chapter 7: Hilbert**

Hilbert's condensed breath joined the gathering fog as he rushed down the road. At the end of the cobbled path stood the ranger station for Route 2. The swirling fog didn't damper the harsh yellow light lancing from the lamppost that stood on guard, marking the path to the station.

As he approached the building, Hilbert could see a lumpy mass perched on the surrounding low, stone fence. The closer he got, the more distinct the shapes became. It was Bianca. She sat on top of the fence, her knees curled up to rest under her chin and her skirt pooling around her. Her right hand was buried in her lillipup's fur and constantly moved in soothing circles. He wasn't sure if the 'soothing' part was for her or Lillipup.

She sniffled again as Hilbert rushed to her. "I just found out," Hilbert said he neared. "Mom called me on the cross-transceiver and I- I couldn't believe what she said." Hilbert's tangle of limbs poured onto the fence beside her. "Is Cheren really-are you alright? Do you need a hug?"

Bianca looked up at him and he could see the dried tear stains on her cheeks. Whatever tears she had, had run out a while ago. "Yes. No. Yes, please."

Hilbert leaned over Lillipup and wrapped his arms around the shaking girl. They sat like that for several minutes as Bianca's shaking became less and less pronounced. He reached up and adjusted her hat, which, had been knocked askew sometime before he arrived.

Hilbert tried to talk, but his voice couldn't form sounds. He took a deep breath, swallowed past the lump in his throat and tried again. "I- I know a guy. Well, the family knows. Actually, my mom knows him. But I can ask her to ask him if he would help."

Bianca's eyes grew wide. "Really?" she asked. "Who?" The reflected lamplight grew softer, becoming more candle than blazing torch.

"It's my dad's old partner. And I'm not promising anything, but I can ask him and see what he'll do."

Bianca shifted, dropping her legs down off of the top of the fence and leaned into Hilbert's side. "That would be wonderful," She giggled softly. The giggles became full on laughs which grew a pained quality and turned to renewed sobs. "Cheren would be complaining right now, I'm sure of it. Something about 'due process of law', or 'chain of command' or some shite like that."

An aside glance to Bianca. Did she just curse?

Bianca grabbed the bag sitting beside her and began to dig in it. "You know Ranger Arakawa didn't find any evidence of Cheren's pokemon at his-at his grave."

"So?"

"I think Team Plasma took them." Hilbert really looked at Bianca's face. None of her tells showed; she believed what she was saying. The dancing light in her eyes reverted back to the flaming torch.

Bianca pulled Cheren's journal out from her bag and flipped to a set of pages marked with a royal blue bookmark. She stabbed the page with her finger. Scribbled there was a note 'tt Hils re eggs'.

"Do you remember Team Plasma's presentation? They talked about liberating some pokemon eggs and they had an oshawott. I think the eggs were those referenced here and I'm going to prove it!" The vehemence in the last sentence was staggering. Bianca Jones was growing a backbone.

"They won't let the general public near them," Hilbert countered, trying to make Bianca see sense. "You'd have to-"

"Have to not be part of the general public," finished Bianca. "I know. I'm going to join Team Plasma."

"Bianca, don't be stupid!" Hilbert pleaded sharply. His voice sliced through the foggy air to land on a flinching Bianca. "Cheren's gone, you don't have to throw your life away as well!"

Bianca set her mouth into a thin line and spoke softly , but clearly. "Cheren was my first friend. He was my only friend until you and Hilda showed up. He believed in me and I will not let him just sit there and rot unavenged." She swallowed and looked Hilbert straight in the eyes. "If you could tell Papa where I am, I would be grateful," she said in her ice-voice.

Hilbert's mouth opened and closed like a basculin, but no words came out. Him, go against her father, who could freak even the most stoic guy out with just a look? This, Hilbert knew, would not end well. "I don't know how," he finally admitted.

"It's simple," said Bianca. "Papa has always been calling me a bleeding heart. If I were to join a group dedicated to pokemon rights and to helping them, it would only seem natural, right?"

"...Okay. Do you need me to do anything else?"

Bianca shook her head no.


	9. Chapter 8: Hilda

_A/N: The matinee is a performance of _The Complete Works_ from the Reduced Shakspearow Comany, in case you're wondering._

**Hilda**

Hilda knelt in the morning sun. Her two pokémon stood across from her and listened intently as she outlined her plan. "We can do this," she told them before fighting off a yawn. She had not slept well at the Ranger Station sat night. Too many thoughts; too many tears.

"You guys will do magnificently," she encouraged. Blitzle stamped his hooves in agreement. Patrat cheered in his snippy little chirps from his post on Blitzle's back.

Hilda rested he hand on it's common post, petting the polio between Blitzle's ears and faced the Striaton Gym. She walked past the empty ticket booth and entered.

The cavernous dinner theatre reflected each of her booming steps. Small tables pooled in the center of the hall, each one set for two or four and draped in blue, green or orange linens. A gilded proscenium stood against the wall on the far side of the room. The stage curtain was black velvet, embroidered with three swirling spheres of green, orange, and blue. The entire theatre was empty.

A shrieking whine cut the silence in two. _"Welco-" "Gimme that!" "Dude, it's my-" "Let me do it!"_

Hilda's head flicked from side to side searching for the voices but she still couldn't see anyone. A small speaker imbedded in the ceiling directly above her in the entrance howled again as the voices continued to fight over the microphone.

_"ENOUGH!" _ one shouted._"Ugh, fine!" "Whatever!"_ said the two others.

Hilda couldn't help but to chuckle slightly at the unprofessionalism.

_"Welcome foolish trainer, to the Striaton Gym. Here you will face your doom!" "Doom? Really? That is so passé" _the second voice cut in._ "Just let him speak," _argued the third voice.

The lights facing the stage brightened. The curtain parted, revealing three men in a gold waistcoats and bow ties that matched the decor.

"Welcome to our gym!" said the first man, who had spiky red hair. "What is your name, fair challenger?" he asked.

"Hilda. Hilda Henderson."

"Excellent, I'm Chili and I light things up with fire types!"

The man on his right snatched the singular microphone out of Chili's hand. "I'm a water specialist," he said. "My name is Cress." His blue-black hair clumped limply on his head, like he hadn't washed it in a while.

The third man only held out his hand for the microphone. Cress deposited it there in the blond's hands quickly. "And my name is Cilan. I like grass-type pokemon."

Chili grabbed the microphone out of Cilan's hands. "As for the reason there are three of us, we-"

Cress whacked Chili and took the microphone. "The three of us will decide whom you will battle. Can you please display your pokedex?"

Hilda clumsily fished out her pokedex from her bag. This gym was nothing like she had expected. The dark room muted the prismatic sparks in the red enamel as she held it up.

Cress smiled. "What incredible luck for you, darling! It shall be I and my esteemed water types that must face you and your tepig."

"But," Hilda began, "I don't have-" All lights in the theatre cut out and the floor began to rumble.

When the lights flicked on again, the floor had been swept clean. Each table had been moved to either the left or right. A plain field, once obscured by seating, was tiled into the floor. At the far end stood Cress, ready and waiting.

"Please release your pokémon," he said.

"But I don-" Hilda tried to explain again.

"You will do fine, don't worry."

"Okay," she muttered. Hilda turned to her two pokémon. "Patrat," she said, "Blitzle is going to take care of this one, is that okay?" The scout pokémon nodded and leaped off of Blitzle's back. He rushed up Hilda's body and settled on her hat to spectate. Blitzle stood calmly as Hilda unhitched the packs, leaving only Blitzle's harness on.

"What?" said Cress as Blitzle trotted onto the field. "How can this be?"

"I tried to tell you," Hilda said. "I don't have a tepig."

Cress gulped audibly. "Very well," he decided. "Hilda, darling, you shall still face my_ panpour_!" The water monkey released itself from her pokéball and flowed from pirouette to bow to a ready stance.

"This shall be a single matchup: Blitzle vs Panpour," said one of the other brothers. They both stood in the referees box, Cilan with the green flag and Chili with the red. "The challenger will be conferred the Trio Badge if she defeats Leader Cress."

"Panpour!" Cress commanded. "Work Up, please, and then Fury Swipes."

"Blitzle!" cried Hilda. "Charge up then charge it! Quick Attack!"

Panpour began stretching her arms up and out, building up a pinkish glow. Blitzle was also glowing. He closed his eyes and focused on the small yellow sparks of electricity that cascaded down his mane as he shook his head. He focused on feeding them energy and shunting the sparks down to his legs and the muscles there. He charged.

Hilda threw up an arm against the sudden flash of light. Blitzle had built up too much energy in his legs and hooves and they had grounded somewhat when he tried to run. The wave of electricity arced across the tiled floor to Panpour who convulsed, then recovered.

Hilda's mouth split wide open in a huge grin. "Shockwave?" she asked herself. Patrat chattered an agreement. He thought that was the attack as well. "Do that again!" she called to Blitzle. "But this time, try and make direct contact!"

Cress's eyes bulged. "WAIT!" he almost screamed. "I forfeit!" His brothers looked on in confusion as Cress walked into the field. He snapped his fingers and a spotlight grew in the field. "I, Cress, Leader of Striaton City Gym, forfeit this battle. The challenger Hilda Henderson has defeated me." He motioned for Hilda to join him in the spotlight. "I therefore confer on you the Trio Badge."

Hilda was still slightly in-pardon the pun-shock. Patrat had to jump on her head to get her moving. Cress retrieved a brass pin from his trouser's pocket and handed it to her. "Your blitzle looked really young," he said. "As long as it didn't know any offensive electric attacks, I had a chance of winning. With that shockwave, my defeat was ensured, even if it hadn't happened yet."

Hilda blinked slowly. She was still trying to puzzle out the reason for the battle's stop. "But, why didn't you keep fighting? Blitzle hasn't battled much, he would have made a mistake soon."

Cress softened his look. "That's not the point of battling, darling. We compete as friends. Some pokémon will go until they have to be dragged off of the field, but that isn't right. We let them compete, not make them fight."

Hilda was still unsure, but she nodded all the same. She mechanically began hooking Blitzle's bags back on him, getting ready for the next leg of her journey.

"Would you like some tea?" Cress asked. "We don't have to get ready for the matinee for at least another couple hours." he motioned her over to one of the tables beyond the sideline.

"This is an actual theatre?" Hilda asked.

"Oh, yes," said Cress. He was handed a pot of hot tea by a passage that Hilda assumed was Cilan's. It had the same bouffant. "My brothers and I were members of an acting troupe in Nimbasa City for several years. When the Pokemon Musical started up, it eventually drove off much of the human actors. We decided to move down here and start up a gym."

"Oh," said Hilda softly. "That's kinda sad."

"It isn't that bad, darling, so don't worry overmuch. I actually like battling more than acting, though I'm not the best at it,"Cress said. "One sugar or two?"

"Two, please. So how long have you guys been here?"

"We just opened up a few months ago. We haven't exactly worked out all the kinks for the dramatic entrance."

Hilda chuckled. "I heard." She drained her tea quickly. "Thank you, but I will be having to go now," she said. "My brother should be challenging this gym soon, and I don't want to be here when he loses."

"Understandable," He said. "Have a good day, Hilda. Remember to smile.


	10. Chapter 9: Hilbert

**Chapter 9: Hilbert**

Hilbert and Hilda were at yet another café. It was by far the easiest place to meet up. Hilda got to see her brother, and Hilbert got to eat. Everybody won. He knew he should be glad to see family (Ma could only call gram a couple times a month, way back when), but his stomach took precedence.

Hilda leaned into the back of her chair and smirked across the table. "So," she asked, "how was your battle?"

Hilbert took an overly large bite of his sandwich and chewed as noisily as he could. "Fon," he answered without swallowing.

Hilda gagged and tossed him a napkin. "Did you really have to do that?" she asked him.

Hilbert nodded yes. It was part of the _Twin Brother Code of Ethics_ to be as annoying as possible. She should know this already. He gulped down more of his cola before wiping his mouth off with a jacket cuff adding to the various stains there. "I did fine," he said again.

"You were complete crap at it, weren't you?" His sister said. As usual, she could see right through him.

"Totally," he admitted. "Cress wiped me out in two hits. I'll just need to practice a bit more and I'll have him down."

Their cross-transceivers began to ring. Hilbert was the second to answer; Bianca and Professor Juniper were already on the line. A second later, Hilda's face joined the screen. Bianca spoke. "Can I call you back later?" she asked. "I'm kinda busy at the moment."

"Of course, Bianca" said the Professor. Bianca's tiny face winked out.

"Are either of you near Striaton City?" Professor Juniper asked. She was framed by a bookshelf and multiple flatscreen monitors, each with a different program running.

"We both are," said Hilda, "but I was just about to head out of town. Hilbert needs to challenge the gym here again."

"I won't keep you then, Hilda," said the professor.

"Cool." Hilda logged out of the call. "I'll be around," she told her brother.

She rewrapped the uneaten half of her sandwich and stuffed it into her bag. "I got this. Let me know if you need anything. Or if," she added slyly, "you need any advice on how to beat Cress from someone who actually has a badge."She slapped twenty bucks on the table, gave one last long draw on her lemonade and headed out down the street, Blitzle trotting behind her.

"So what do you need, Professor?" Hilbert said to the vidscreen strapped to his wrist.

"If it isn't to much of a bother, I need you to deliver a package."

"Couldn't you just sent it directly to their address, whoever he is?"

"_She_ is. And no, I can't." The Professor pointed to on of the screens behind her. "Professor Birch just published a new paper on Mawile domestication."

_Oh, _ he thought. _Nerd stuff. _"Then how am I going to deliver it?" he asked Juniper. "I'm not going to be here for long."

"I don't have it. I need you to gather it for me."

Hilbert could only stare at the screen in shock. "So why can't Wassername do it?"

"She's in the middle of a delicate experiment." Hilbert grunted in frustration. He needed to get back to training. Though he _had_ agreed to do this and, hopefully, it would give him some advantage for the upcoming rematch with the Gym. Whoever the lady was, if she was friends with Juniper, she could be useful. "What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"There is an old construction site outside of the town. Doctor Fennel needs residue from the psychic pokémon that live there."

"That seems easy enough," Hilbert said.

"The thing is," said the professor, "the residue disappears after about an hour. If you get it back to Dr Fennel quickly enough she can put it in stasis."

"Not so easy, then."

"Nope. Sorry about that." The professor seemed pensive for a moment, then continued, "Ask her about the translator project. She's going to need some beta testers."

"Translator project?" Hilbert asked.

"I'll contact you later." Professor Juniper hung up.

"Weird," muttered Hilbert


End file.
